The Ultimate Guide to Crystals & Stones: A Practical Path to Personal Power, Self-Development, and Healing - Uma Silbey 2016

Systems of Crystal and Stone Work
Basic Crystal and Stone Information

There are many systems of working with stones and crystals, probably as many systems as there are people working with them. Though the many methods and applications subscribed to each stone sometimes seem to contradict, each shares the commonalities of concentration, centering, intention, and a focus on some form of subtle energy. Each method is geared to a certain person, type of stone, environment, situation, and time, so all methods can be valid to one degree or another, their validity, in each case, determined by whether they are effective. Rather than trying to decide intellectually which methods are the best to work with, it’s best to try out the ones that just appeal to us and then, after an appropriate amount of time, check our results in the “real” world. To do this, we need to be truthfully observant and honest with ourselves. We need to let go of our expectancies, prejudices, and wishful thinking in favor of the truth so that we not only notice what worked, but also how it worked.

With this in mind, no one system is presented in this book. Instead, having worked with stones for more than forty years and constantly searching for the unifying heart of these many ancient and modern systems, I practiced what seemed to be most relevant within them all while listening to the guidance inside my heart as well as the voices of the stones.

As mentioned earlier, it is important to develop reliance on our own inner guidance rather than merely memorizing one system or another and then following that system no matter what. When we are referring only to our memories, our attention is occupied by our mind rather than the deeper guidance that comes in the form of an inner knowing that’s centered more in our hearts. Nor are we particularly in touch with the stones so that they speak to us. Without this, our effectiveness is limited.

This doesn’t mean that it isn’t helpful to learn many methods. Each method we learn is like adding a tool to a toolbox. Just as many tools assist many jobs, the more we know gives us that many more tools in order to be spontaneous and unlimited in our work, able to do what each situation and moment demands.

We need to be sure, though, to test the methods for an appropriate length of time. For some people certain techniques will work right away, while for others results may take a couple of weeks, a month, or more, so it is important to give them ample time to work. If a technique doesn’t work for us, if we have enough tools in our toolbox we can try something else. In the pages of this book, I will suggest optimal trial periods, but ultimately it is our own sense of inner knowing that will tell us when to try something new.

As we continue in our stone work, our sense of intuition or inner guidance will also help us to know the right method to employ with our stones every time that we use them. If we don’t hear this inner voice at first, our ability to discern it will automatically increase as we quiet our minds and center ourselves. To help speed up this process, there are techniques within the pages of this book that are designed to develop our “hearing,” to show us what to listen for, and how to be quiet enough to hear.

Finally, with stones, as in life, it is important to remember that although we listen and learn from the experiences of others, ultimately we must follow our own path as it is presented to us rather than betray our own self. We all have our own paths that are reflective of our own inner selves, pathways that will open us up to the depth that we are able to listen.

THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG METHOD …

ONLY WHAT WORKS.